CH 117

Asha clung to him, gasping for breath, but at that moment, she sensed something peculiar.

Her eyes widened as she glanced down at her chest.

A gentle blue light emanated from within, enveloping her in a protective aura.

Unbuttoning her clothes, she discovered that the blue crystal necklace gifted by Jackal was radiating a luminous glow.

Even a single sting from an ordinary wasp could prove fatal, but the collar seemed to prevent the spread of the venom.

Jackal slowly removed the poisonous sting from Asha’s chest.

Suddenly, he remembered when Asha had pulled an arrow out of his side, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

As soon as the venomous stinger was removed, the wound miraculously healed in an instant.

‘This necklace will protect you.’

Asha was deeply moved by the protective power of Jackal’s necklace.

The two hugged each other in their disheveled state.

Asha noticed numerous scars and burns on Jackal’s body and her eyes widened.

“Jackal, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But we have to deal with that damn wasp as soon as possible.”

Clutching the poisonous stinger in his hand, Jackal looked at the wasp that was hovering in the sky.

* * * * * 

At that moment, Karaf was trapped in a thorny bush, caught between the realms of life and death.

Amid the chaos, the voices of Asha, Dart, the monsters’ screams, and Duran’s and the knights’ shouts echoed in his ears, blurring the lines between dreams and reality.

When he opened his eyes, he discovered himself in an unfamiliar place.

The cracked ground looked like a drought-stricken landscape, full of withered flowers. The sky was cloudy, and a freezing wind blew menacingly like a typhoon.

‘Where am I…?’

While Karaf was alone on a cliff, someone spoke to him from behind.

[…….You’ve finally arrived.]

When he turned around, Karaf saw a man with unbound turquoise hair, dressed in an ivory-colored robe.

It was God Etzheim.

Although they had never met before, Karaf immediately recognized him, his eyes widening in astonishment.

Trembling, Karaf managed to muster a question.

“Where is this place?”

[This is the inner world of the Etzheim Empire.]

Karaf muttered the words ‘inner world’ as he looked at the desolate surroundings once more.

Suddenly, when he realized something, he asked with a miserable face.

“Did I… create all of this?”

God remained silent.

His silence served as a clear answer, and Karaf felt a surge of intense emotion rise inside him.

Unable to bear the pain, he sought refuge from reality, escaping to this place.

However, the place where he was standing was no different from reality.

No, it seemed even closer to the depths of hell.

Could it be that I led to everyone’s death…?

Karaf’s voice choked as he spoke.

“I never… I never intended for the empire to be built like this….”

God responded calmly.

[I know.]

Karaf, with bloodshot eyes fixed on God, asked.

“If I die, will the empire be able to find peace again?”

[You’re trying to escape again.]

God abruptly opened his eyes, and reproached Karaf, causing him to flinch.

[Then who will take responsibility for your death?]

Karaf did not understand for a moment what that meant.

But soon, thoughts of Asha, Duran, and countless others left behind in the real world flooded his mind.

[Now, you don’t have long to live. But you as the flower of the empire, the power you possess can save yourself or you can save others. You must make a choice here.]

Suddenly, Karaf recalled Asha’s words from the past.

‘Your Majesty, it seems this place is another cliff for me.’

Before he knew it, he was standing on a cliff too.

Karaf lowered his head with a troubled expression, and then his eyes widened as he noticed something on the ground.

Right next to where he was standing, there was a camellia flower that had not yet bloomed.

At the sight of it, Karaf’s face crumpled.

Asha remained by his side until the very end on this cliff.

The camellia flower was followed by a dandelion symbolizing Duran, a hyacinth symbolizing Jackal, a lilac symbolizing the Chamberlain, a cherry blossom symbolizing Duke Sihan, a carnation symbolizing Sonya, and many other flowers. 

They were standing in a single line as if they were holding a rope to prevent him from falling off the cliff.

Unbeknownst to him, tears streamed down Karaf’s face.

He was no longer alone…..

Karaf collapsed before God, fell to his knees, and then prostrated himself.

“I’ve been in the wrong… Please, take my life and save Vanessa. Please, save all the people who followed me….”

God Etzheim looked at Karaf in surprise.

The black rose he had known until now had been authoritarian, selfish, and indifferent to the lives of others.

But now, Karaf had cast aside his pride and was sincerely pleading for forgiveness, his desperation etched on his face.

Karaf couldn’t bear to witness Asha wither away because of his actions and be abandoned once again.

In this life, he yearned for her to blossom beautifully.

He couldn’t simply abandon her… She was so beautiful.

Witnessing Karaf’s heartfelt tears, God finally spoke.

[I understand. I will transfer the essence of your life to her…]

After God finished speaking, his form slowly disappeared.

At the same time, Karaf looked in resignation at the thorny bushes that stretched from his chest to his entire body.

If he could save Asha, enduring this level of pain one last time was acceptable.

Karaf closed his eyes and slowly accepted his own death…..

* * * * *

At the time, Asha was engaged in a fierce battle against Dart with Gabe and Jackal by her side.

As Gabe picked up a sharp stone from the ground, Asha used the power of the wind to hurl it toward Dart like an arrow.

Jackal also created icy arrows and attempted to attack alongside Asha.

But each time, their attacks were blocked by the monsters.

To land a single blow, they had to defeat many monsters, so they consumed a lot of physical strength.

Exhausted from fighting the monsters, Asha momentarily lost her strength and sank to the ground.

“…… Asha!”

Jackal rushed to her side, gripping her shoulder firmly.

Dart spoke in a cold, taunting tone.

“It’s useless. No matter how hard you fight, Karaf will soon die. If you swear allegiance to me, I won’t kill you all in vain.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Gabe created a dagger made of ore that was hidden underground and pointed the tip at Dart.

But then, an unexpected surge of power coursed through Asha’s body, causing her eyes to widen.

Instinctively sensing Karaf’s energy, her eyes flickered.

She could feel him giving her strength, even though she was trapped in the thorny bush, unable to move.

Asha calmly picked up an arrow from the ground for the last time and placed it on her bow.

Dart sneered at her.

“Still not giving up? I’ve told you, it’s useless no matter how many times.”

Around her were countless arrows broken and stuck into the ground.

All of them shattered before they could reach him.

Asha brushed off her torn skirt and stood tall.

Her purple eyes shone with determination through her sweat-dampened golden hair.

“No, this time will be different.”

With one final arrow, Asha took aim at Dart.

Harnessing the combined power of the flower, the necklace gifted by Jackal, and her own command over the wind, a tremendous whirlwind encircled them.

The wind grew stronger the closer it got to Dart.

The scene unfolded like a tale from a forgotten folklore, where the spirit of the wind carried a flower seed.

The wasp was hovering in the air but was unable to escape from Asha’s attack.

Dart’s eyes widened. 

In an instant, the swirling wind formed a colossal hand that grabbed the wasp, while Asha’s arrow pierced Dart’s right shoulder.

Dart fell to the ground.

The wasp desperately struggled, attempting to fly back to Dart, but at that moment, the fire spirit emerged from the ground, engulfing the creature in blazing flames.

All the spirits fought as one.

With a harrowing scream, the wasp disintegrated into ashes.

Asha, momentarily dazed, quickly regained her senses and hurriedly made her way toward the massive thorny bush.

“Karaf……!”

Within the thorny bush, covered in several layers of thick thorns, Karaf’s pale face appeared.

There were drops of blood on his pale face, which seemed to have drained all the blood.

He appeared to be badly injured.

But the thorny bush was growing even larger, threatening to swallow his face whole.

Asha was taken aback, yet she extended her hand towards him.

In an instant, the thorns sprouted and hurt her hand, but seeing Karaf’s face about to be swallowed whole by the thorny bush, Asha did not dare to withdraw her hand.

As Asha was wounded by the thorns and blood trickling from her, she persisted in reaching out to him.

“Asha……!”

“Lady Vanessa……!”

Jackal, Duran, and others cried out in surprise at the sight, but Asha frowned in pain and made an even greater effort to move closer to Karaf.

She felt that if she gave up on him, there would be no one able to really stop his rampage.

Asha’s clothes were pierced here and there and her hair was also cut by the sharp thorns coming out of Karaf.

But as she extended her other hand towards him, something extraordinary unfolded.

A radiant white light emanated from her ring finger, connecting with a mysterious presence within the thorn bush.

Asha gazed at her hand, her eyes widening in awe.

Adorning her ring finger was the black diamond ring that Karaf had given her during the Flowering Ceremony.

And where the luminosity of the ring converged… there hung the suncatcher she had given him.

Their heartfelt gift exchanges allowed them to touch each other.

As the thorny bush quivered in the white light, Asha was finally able to reach Karaf’s face.

Asha’s warm warmth touched her cold, pale face.

Radiant golden light streamed through the cracks in the bush, reducing the thorns to ashes in an instant.

Having regained her composure, Asha took Karaf into her arms, who was lying motionless on the ground.

However, at that moment, Asha’s eyes widened as she noticed something on his chest.

In no time, the curse mark that was on his chest had disappeared, and a healthy green glow swirled as if a new bud was blooming.

As the five spirits united in heart, it seemed that Karaf’s curse had finally been broken.

The people who approached Asha were speechless and amazed at the sight.

Asha, wearing a dazed expression, placed her hand on his chest.

In that very instant, akin to a blossoming flower, the green hue transformed into a delicate shade of pink, enveloping Karaf’s body.

Duran muttered absentmindedly as he witnessed the scene.

“A true blossoming….”

Then, Karaf opened his eyes.